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Australian multinational furniture store chain owned by Greenlit Brands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Freedom is a furniture and homewares retail chain in Australia and New Zealand.[3] It is owned and operated by Greenlit Brands.[4]
| |
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1981 |
Number of locations | 61 stores, 47 in Australia[1] and 14 in New Zealand [2] (2023) |
Area served | Australia, New Zealand |
| Products | |
Number of employees | 1000+ |
| Parent | Greenlit Brands |
| Website | www www |
Freedom was founded in 1981 in Sydney by Warren Higgs.[5] Its first Melbourne store opened in 1984.[6] Freedom was purchased by investment company Jamison Equity in July 1991.[7]
In 1996, Freedom went public on the Australian Securities Exchange.[8] The same year, it expanded to New Zealand through local franchisee Farmers Deka.[7][9]
In April 1999, Freedom acquired the Guests and Andersons furniture chains for $22.4 million in cash and stock.[10] In 2000, it acquired bedding company Capt'n Snooze.[11] In 2002, the company acquired the Bayswiss homewares chain.[12]
In 2003, Freedom was bought out and taken private by management in a deal backed by Steinhoff International, the company's supplier and largest shareholder.[13][14]
In 2004, Freedom entered the UK market through a management and supply agreement with Cargo Homeshop, a furniture and homewares with 36 stores at the time. The deal gave Freedom management control over the retailer, with the option to purchase it outright in the future. Freedom also planned to alter the retailer's product range and introduce Freedom products.[15][16]
The New Zealand arm had 13 stores by 2008.[17] and 15 stores by 2009.[18] In 2023 Freedom saw the closure of two New Zealand stores; Palmerston North & Taupō. Leaving 12 remaining stores around New Zealand including five in Auckland.[19]
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